Brooklyn Scrabble... or how to tell when gentification is in full swing
Way back in oh.... about 1998. Back in the bad old days...
Every Saturday afternoon needed a presence watching.... eyeballing every van that came down President Street towards 4th Avenue. Why? Park Slope didn't yet slum down to 5th Avenue let alone 4th. In addition the contractor workday (for un-permitted gut rehabs) ended at 3PM. Almost without fail during 97-98 if we were not in town doin' that eyeballin'... there would almost certainly be a pile of big league rubbish/demolition debris/concrete waiting for us at the corner. It wouldn't even be in the city garbage can since, as far as I can tell we were the only subway stop in the five boros with no garbage can on the street. Took me awhile to realize it was because, in the wasteland 4th Avenue was, cans incented dumping.
What kind of dumping?
There were tire... and radiators... and refrigerators. There were cabinets and kitchen sinks. There were broken mirrors(do you get seven years if you break a broken mirrior again?) and there were strollers.
Those were the annoying things. The things that got my goat... was the contractor debris. And you know, the criminal dumping element ain't that smart. SO.... Sherlock Holmes I became....
The case of the Naughty Bodega:
One fine morning when strolling in the mists of the swamp of Gowanus... I came to work to behold a 7 cubits wide by 2 cubits deep by 3 cubits tall piece of beige extruded plastic. Now, in my naivite(it will become clear later) I was befuddled. I had no idea. What was this oddly shaped glop? I called into service my trusty sister/sidekick... and she said "... it's a cigarrette overhead rack you dummy" (with the intonation on "dummy" like Fred Sanford)! Now since I don't smoke I wasn't indocrinated into the shape of overhead cigarette dispensers. Once that was clear... the answer was ... up the hill to 5th Avenue!! No one would go uphill to dump anything. That would be too much like work.
So we trudged uphill to 5th avenue and took a gander. Not 20 feet away was a bodega (later the home to Beacon's closet) that was undergoing renovation. And it had a brand spanking new overhead cigarette rack. I said "Hey mister... ya wanna come get your garbage. It ain't cool to dump in the hood. Do you even live here?" He denied it was his although bits of it were strewn about. Had to threaten call 4-0. That got it done. Score one for the garbage inspector.
The case of the Porn Collection
One fine day we arrived to find all kinds of base level porn... Swank, Penthouse and such. This was an easy one. Tha fool didn't even remove the labels. Just put'em back up on the stoop of their building on President. Another one for the garbage inspector.
The case of the 5th Avenue Reno
One day there was a box.... the kind you hang garments in when you move. 5' or 6' tall and it was full of concrete debris. Too heavy for three people to move. At least non-contractor labor types like myself. But there were concret drag marks going up President Street. Followed the tracks up to 5th Avenue where they led into an apartment rowhouse. Mentioned it to the construction worker type who at first denied it and then owned up and came and got it. Score another one for the inspector.
The case of the giant Scrabble....
One day there appeared outside a git set of plastic letters. 2' tall and about 9" deep. There were about a dozen. We spread'em out and what did they spell after a bit of re-arranging...???
ASSOCIATED SUPERMARKETS
Well we went right on up with and gave the manager a piece of our mind. As usual it was denied but then we threatened 4-0 and he sent someone down with a shopping cart to pick'em up.
There are more tales like that but you get the gist. When rehab dumpings are happening is the time to get in as the no permit guys are usually ahead of the real estate curve. You may not get the best deal but you will get a good one before the press gets a clue.
